Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who oversees the spiritual care of Catholics serving in the US military, issued a statement on Monday criticizing the Pentagon's plans to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, scheduled for 3 December. Hasan, an army psychiatrist, was convicted of killing 13 people in a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced last week that Hasan's execution would be public, and the Pentagon subsequently confirmed it would be livestreamed. Broglio described the plan as contrary to church teachings and asked that any Catholic soldier assigned to the firing squad seek to be excused from the duty.
Broglio, who presided over the funeral of Michael Grant Cahill, the only civilian killed in the attack, questioned the purpose of exposing the public to the execution. “The crime committed by Hasan was heinous, but does exposing the public to his execution serve any purpose?” he asked. He also warned that broadcasting the image “of a man in a wheelchair to the whole world” risked aligning the US military with terrorists, given its generally good reputation.
Broglio joins other Catholic leaders who have spoken out against the death penalty and the livestream plans.